Inkjet recording is a non-impact method that, in response to a digital signal, produces droplets of ink that are deposited on a substrate, i.e. a printable recording medium or media. There are several classes of inkjet printer, for instance piezoelectric and thermal drop-on-demand printers and continuous inkjet printers. The inkjet process is now a widely used printing process since it can be carried out using relatively cheap and reliable printers without noise and with high quality and has found broad application as output for personal computers in the office and the home.
With increasing improvement in the availability and mode of operation of inkjet printers, there is great interest in using the inkjet process in many imaging and display applications. Consequently, increasingly severe requirements are being set for the recording materials and for the prints produced. Such recording is thus supposed to have, for example, high resolution, high color density, sufficient ink gradation and good light fastness. In addition, there is an increasing interest in providing prints with a glossy image surface, or with more particular features such as highly reflective metallic appearance and/or electrical conductivity for new applications such as decorative, label and security or anti-counterfeiting printing.
Consequently, it has become common to provide recording materials comprising a supporting substrate, such as plain paper for example and at least one ink-receptive recording layer arranged thereon, the recording layer imparting the specific desired features to the media.
However, though the above list of characteristics provides a worthy goal to achieve, there are difficulties associated with satisfying all of the above characteristics.